A demarche shows lack of understanding.

"India issued a demarche on Tuesday on Britain and summoned the British high commissioner to convey strong opposition to the 'unwarranted and tendentious discussion' on India's agricultural reforms in the UK Parliament, which the Indian high commission here described as packed with false assertions and one- sided." A 'demarche' is diplomatic correspondence representing the official views of the government. Which is angry because, "At the debate 17 out of 18 MPs, from Labour, the Conservatives and other parties, condemned India for its treatment of farmer protesters and the alleged crackdown on the press, internet shutdowns and arrest of activists." How dare the British expose repression of Indian citizens when, "Nearly 70% of cases of internet shutdowns globally happened in India in 2020, according to a new report by Access Now, a global non-profit that works on digital rights and online freedom. Out of the 155 instances of internet disruptions, 109 were recorded in India, followed by Yemen with six instances." Another NGO Freedom House in the US downgraded India to partly free which the government dismissed as "misleading, incorrect and misplaced". Foreigners are biased say the Bhakts, a dedicated group of followers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Are they? "A law, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, is being weaponised and a premier federal agency  tasked with fighting drug trafficking by mafias at all-India level appears to have become a leaky instrument out to smear individual reputations by innuendo, helpfully amplified by gutless TV channels willing to play accomplice," wrote an editorial in The Indian Express. The agency is headed by a Gujarat-cadre officer Rakesh Asthana. We understand. "The state uses investigations, leaked evidence, chargesheets as pretexts for establishing narrative dominance and to intimidate. It is not interested in guilt or innocence. It is interested in demonstrating it can destroy your life with impunity," wrote PB Mehta. So what is the truth about farmers from Punjab who are protesting at Delhi's borders? "According to Professor Sukhpal Singh, principal economist, Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Ludhiana, 89 percent of farmers in Punjab are under debt," wrote Anju Agnihotri Chaba. 9,300 farmers and 7,300 farm laborers committed suicide in 17 years in Punjab, 88% of which were due to heavy debt. "Iron nails, rods, barbed wire, boulders and makeshift walls are being used to barricade Delhi's borders against thousands of protesting farmers," reported BBC. "Indian tycoon Gautam Adani has added more billions to his wealth than anyone else in the world this year on the back of investor excitement around his ports-to-power plants conglomerate," reported The Hindu Business Line. According to the UN, India, at 18 million, has the largest number of citizens who have escaped abroad. So desperate are people in Punjab that there is actually a gurdwara dedicated to visas to the US. A demarche is not going to stop people in the UK or US. They have freedom of speech. Our lot can't understand.